Ethydco training report

By: ‫شريف حسين نصري البيومي‬

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 Table of content
What is Ethydco……………………………………………...3
Ethylene production…………………………………………4
a. Mercury removal
b. Cracking heater
c. Quench water system
d. Caustic water wash tower
e. Charge gas dryers
f. Chilling tray
g. Demethanizer and Deethanizer
h. Acetylene hydrogenation
i. Ethylene fractionator
j. Ethylene and Ethane storage

Safety and process safety………….……………………....10

HYSIS…………………….………………………………….....13
Gas processing……………………………………………….15
Propane refrigeration……………………………………..…17
Ethylene refrigeration……………………………………….18
Conclusion………………………………………………..…..18

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 1) What is Ethydco ?

The Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives

Company (ETHYDCO) is an Egyptian
joint stock company established on
January, 16th, 2011 under Egyptian
investment law with total investment
cost of US $ 1.9 Billion.
ETHYDCO’s petrochemicals complex
is the largest in Egypt and Africa,
implemented with the latest state of art
technology to be a leading provider of
advanced and high quality products
(Linear Low & High Density Polyethylene, Polybutadiene).

ETHYDCO’s sustainability approach collaborates business goals with our economic, social and
environmental capabilities by having a glance on the future and on the expected challenges,
ETHYDCO will continue erecting an organization that sustains its growth and assures the
improvement of its people. To reinforce our support of the surrounding community, we seek to confirm
that our social responsibility is emphasizing positively to the shareholders’ requirements matched with
our competencies and calibers.
This collaboration is the driving growth for our operations, our customers and our people. This is
essential to our success.

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Ethydco produces many products that contributes in the market with high value

Ethylene
production:
Ethylene is the essential building block to make resins and plastics. Approximately 200 million tons
are produced annually, and its worldwide production exceeds any other organic compound.

The conventional method of producing ethylene is steam cracking of ethane in a chemical plant by
using extreme temperatures and pressures. This requires a large energy input and releasing
substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

“Ethylene is the most important chemical in the petrochemical industry. The conventional process to
produce ethylene is energy intensive and a heavy emitter of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Consequently, alternative conversion technologies are critically needed for efficiency improvements
in chemical manufacturing while combating the global warming.

Ethylene has historically been made from petroleum, but the production has been transitioning to
using natural gas. The principal method of producing ethylene is steam cracking, a process which
breaks down hydrocarbons through the refining of petroleum or natural gas.

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“The steam is produced and fed by natural gas. The cracking process takes place at 800 to 900
degrees Celsius,” Chen says. “The process is expensive because at that high temperature you have
steam in a harsh environment, and the reactors must hold that temperature.”

Mercury removal system:

Function: remove mercury from the feed by amine
system
Why: mercury attacks all AL exchangers and this is
catastrophic
The outlet of the mercury removal system is then treated
with amine to remove acid gases like co2 and H2S by
using Diglycolamin solvent
The acid gases removes are sent to the incinerator

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Cracking heater:
Heat hydrocarbon to cracking temperature
Mix feed with dilution steam
Produce valuable products like ethylene

Quench water system:

Separate pyrolysis gasoline
Cool gas to 41 c
Transfer recovered heat to quench water for process use

Caustic water wash tower:

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charge gas dryers

Chilling train:

Demethanizer and Deethanizer:

The first separate ethane and provide feed for Deethanizer which:

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Acetylene hydrogenation:

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Ethylene fractionator:

Ethylene and ethane storage

Safety and process safety:
General introduction
Safety in the workplace is a crucial aspect of any business. There are two main types
of safety to consider: process safety and occupational safety. While both are important
in creating a safe work environment, they focus on different areas. Understanding the
differences between these two types of safety is crucial in maintaining a safe
workplace for all employees.
Process safety is a management system that prevents major accidents in processing
facilities that contain hazardous materials. This includes the design, operation,
maintenance, and modification of process plants and the impact of human and
organizational factors on process safety.
Examples of Process Safety Hazards: fires and explosions releases ,reactive chemical
incidents, pressure vessel rupture, equipment failure

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Implementing good process safety
management is crucial in preventing
these hazards and ensuring the
safety of employees and equipment.
This includes proper procedures and
controls, as well as training for
employees.
Examples of Process Safety in
Different Industries:
Chemical plant: Potential for leak of
hazardous chemical leading to fire or
explosion
Facilities handling flammable materials: Preventing fires and explosions
Reactors and distillation columns: Controlling pressures and temperatures
Storage tanks containing toxic or combustible liquids: Managing risks
Occupational Safety is the study and practice of protecting workers from workplace
hazards. It covers various topics, including ergonomics, slips and trips, manual
handling, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), stress, workplace violence,
and more. Worker’s health and safety are managed at the executive level, involving
employee compliance and quality oversight. The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) sets standards for worker health enforced by law.
Examples of Occupational Safety Hazards: Slips, trips, and falls , Electrical hazards
Ergonomic hazards, Exposure to hazardous materials, Fire and explosion
hazards ,Machinery hazards
Process safety focuses on preventing major accidents involving hazardous materials,
while occupational safety protects workers from daily work hazards.
By understanding the differences between these two types of safety and implementing
appropriate measures, companies can create a safe and healthy work environment.

Risk assessment:
Step 1: Identify the hazards
Walk around your venue and look at what could reasonably be expected to cause
harm.

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Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment as they
can be very helpful in spelling out the hazards and putting them in their true
perspective.
Remember to think about long-term hazards to health (eg high levels of noise or
exposure to harmful substances) as well as safety hazards.
Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
For each hazard you need to be clear about who might be harmed; it will help you
identify the best way of managing the risk. That doesn’t mean listing everyone by
name, but rather identifying groups of people
In each case, identify how they might be harmed, i.e. what type of injury or ill health
might occur.
Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
Having spotted the hazards, you then have to decide what to do about them. The law
requires you to do everything ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm.
You can work this out for yourself, but the easiest way is to compare what you are
doing with good practice.
First, look at what you’re already doing, think about what controls you have in place
and how it is organized.
Then compare this with the good practice and see if there’s more you should be doing
to bring yourself up to standard.
When controlling risks, apply the principles below, if possible in the following order:
try a less risky option (eg switch to using a less hazardous chemical);
prevent access to the hazard (eg by guarding);
organize work to reduce exposure to the hazard (eg put barriers between pedestrians
and traffic);
issue personal protective equipment (eg clothing, footwear, goggles etc); and

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provide welfare facilities (eg first aid and washing facilities for removal of
contamination).

Step 4: Record your findings and implement them

Putting the results of your risk assessment into practice
Writing down the results of your risk assessment, and sharing them, encourages you
to do the work.
When writing down your results, keep it simple. Good risk assessment should ensure.
A proper check was made. Asking who might be affected. Dealing with all the obvious
significant hazards. Taking into account the number of people who could be involved.
The precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low. And involving your staff
or their representatives in the process.
Step 5: Review your risk assessment and update if necessary
Things are likely to change between first conducting your risk assessment and your
fundraising event. It makes sense therefore, to review what you are doing on an
ongoing basis.
Look at your risk assessment and think about whether there have been any changes?
Are there improvements you still need to make? Have other people spotted a problem?
Have you learnt anything from accidents or near misses?
Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date.

HYSIS:

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Aspen HYSYS (HYSYS for short, a portmanteau from Hyprotech and Systems) is the
one of the top leading Chemical Process Simulator in the market (or at least in the
Chemical Engineering World)
HYSYS is used extensively in industry due to its steady-state and dynamic simulation,
process design, performance modelling, and optimization.
HYSYS is a software that will allow the user to build a process model and then
simulate it using complex calculations (models, equations, math calculations,
regressions, etc).
It will maximize safety, throughput and profits by optimizing the entire site in one
environment using industry-validated simulation accuracy and time-saving workflows.
Given a process design and an appropriate selection of thermodynamic models,
HYSYS uses mathematical models to predict the performance of the process.

Engineers will typically simulate this using the software in order to optimize the design
and improve existing ones.
This accurate modeling of thermodynamic properties is particularly important in the
separation of non-ideal mixtures.
One of the best advantages is that HYSYS has already an existing data base of of
species and their pure/binary regressed parameters.
It can also handle very complex processes, such as:
Dedicated Unit Operations for the Refinery Industry (Crackers, Coker, Reformer, FCC
Unit, etc.)

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Multiple-column separation systems, Chemical reactors, Simulation of Petroleum
Crude Oils (based on their properties), Complex Recycle – Bypass Stream in
Processes
Process Simulation, especially in the chemical Process Industry, is NOT drawing and
modeling Equipment alone. It is mostly focused on the physical and chemical
characteristic on how unit operations will work! Process Simulation is the Art of
Modeling Chemical and Physical Processes in Computer.
There are a lot of processes which
can be modeled: Heat
Exchanges ,Reactors, Pressure
Changers (Valves, Pumps,
Compressors, etc.) ,Distillation
Columns, Absorption Columns,
Extractors, Flash systems,
Separators & Mixers.

More interestingly: Fluidized

Catalytic Cracking, H2SO4
Alkylation, Isomerization Unit ,
Naphtha Hydrotreater, Catalytic
Reformer , Hydrocracker, Hydro
processing Bed, Visbreaker, Sulfur
Recovery Units, Vacuum Resid
Tower

The most common industries using HYSIS are: Oil & Gas (upstream and downstream),
Petroleum Refining, Natural Gas
Others are: Petrochemicals, Chemical Industry, Polymers, Pharmaceuticals, Painting &
Coatings, Food & Bevereages

Gas processing

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Natural gas processing has many stages: extraction, removals, separation, liquefying.
The natural gas used in households is different in many ways from the extracted, raw
natural gas.
Natural gas has gained popularity in the last couple of years, mostly because it is
considered as a ‘bridge’ between highly pollutant fuels (gasoline, carbon, and diesel)
and renewable energy. Among non-renewable fuels, natural gas has the least
greenhouse gas effects.
Natural gas (or fossil gas) is hiding beneath the surface and extracted both from under
the ocean and land. Natural gas consists mainly of methane but includes a varying
amount of alkanes, nitrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, water vapor, propane, butane,
and hydrogen sulphide.
Natural gas formed hundreds of millions of years ago. The heat and gravity
decomposed the dead plants and animals and turned them into petroleum, oil, or
natural gas. Most of the time natural gas can be found near oil reservoirs, and because
of that, a separation is needed after extraction.
Natural gas processing plants, planning & extraction, separation (from oil),
removals: water, sulphur, and carbon dioxide, separation of natural gas liquids
odorant phase: natural gas is odourless, thus it is dangerous. Giving natural gas an
odour has safety reasons. Compression station, storage, transportation
Natural gas separation and refining Separation starts with oil. The most common
method is to use equipment called Conventional Separator which is placed near
wellheads so it can start separating right after natural gas comes to the surface. It
works with gravity: in a simple, closed tank the heavier oil separates from the lighter
gas.
Separation starts with oil. The most common method is to use equipment called
Conventional Separator which is placed near wellheads so it can start separating right
after natural gas comes to the surface. It works with gravity: in a simple, closed tank
the heavier oil separates from the lighter gas.
Groundwater comes with natural gas many times. Removing the associated water
happens right after oil separation and is a more complex procedure. The process
involves absorption, or adsorption, depending on the water’s condensation. Other
contained acid gases are removed by membrane or amine treating.

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Acid gas removal: Adsorption and
absorption are the two main
methods for removing acid gases.
Adsorption is a physical–chemical
phenomena that occurs when a gas is
concentrated on the surface of a
solid or liquid in order to remove
contaminants. Carbon is commonly
used as an adsorbing medium
because it can be regenerated after
use.
Dehydration of Natural Gas: Dehydration of
natural gas means extracting water vapor from the gas to a specified maximum limit for
residual water content. There are various processes available for dehydration, such as:
absorption with glycol, adsorption with dry desiccant, absorption with a deliquescent
salt and refrigeration and hydrate suppression with a chemical
Mercury removal: Non-regenerative and regenerative adsorbents can be used to
remove mercury from natural gas. Hydrocarbon gas enters the top of an adsorption
tower and travels downwards through the adsorbent,
where the mercury is adsorbed, before exiting the
bottom for further processing or sale. Regenerable
systems contain two or more adsorption towers, one
of which may be regenerated while the others are
still in use. Bed regeneration is achieved by forcing
heated regeneration gas upward, allowing pollutants
adsorbing at the entrance to be flushed out without
having to flush the whole bed. To achieve successful
mercury removal and a long, dependable bed life,
the beds must be protected against liquid water contamination.
Nitrogen removal: Nitrogen Rejection's goal is to eliminate nitrogen from feed residue
gas to provide a treated stream with low nitrogen content and a better lower heating
value (LHV) specification. The nitrogen content in the feed gas stream has a big
impact on the best Nitrogen Rejection procedure. There are three main methods used
for nitrogen rejection:, Cryogenic Distillation, Adsorption, Membrane Separation

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Natural gas liquids: the cryogenic expansion process
Natural gas liquids are not the same
as LNG (liquefied natural gas).
Additional liquids like oil, butanes,
and pentanes have to be removed
from the natural gas. The cryogenic
expansion process removes lighter
hydrocarbons too (such as ethane).
The process starts with a dramatic
dropping in the temperature: the
gas stream reduces to around -85 degrees C. The cryogenic expansion process
produces a cleaner natural gas.
When natural gas takes its final form, odorant phase, storage and transportation are
left on the to-do list. ‘Giving’ an odor to natural gas is a key factor: the smell is like an
alarm, so it is easier to recognize leaking in the systems when transported.
All that is left is to transport the natural gas into the desired destination. Natural gas
can be stored both as a gas or liquefied. Gaseous fossil fuel is transported by gas
stream pipelines for long distances, while LNG can be shipped to territories where
pipelines cannot be built like islands.

Propane refrigeration:

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Ethylene refrigeration

Conclusion:
It was very useful training, I learned many new information especially about
ethylene production I learned about the process of ethylene production and
its sections starting from removing impurities until the final fractionation.
I found also an interest towards process safety, risk assessment and HYSIS
program as they are important pillars to achieve success.
There was very good environment there to share our opinions thus, criticism
is constructing our engineering characters. In Ethydco, I had mixed
experiment between the basics and the advanced techniques used now in
the petroleum industry.
For more information about the company, here is their website link:
[Link]

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